Letter drop with undesirable material ejector



Oct. 23, 1962 J. J. TAGGART 3,059,841

LETTER DROP WITH UNDESIRABLE MATERIAL EJECTOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 17, 1960 FIG.2

INVENTOR. TOHN J HGGAR T usmmuj ATTORNEYS Oct. 23, 1962 J. J. TAGGARTY 3,059,841

LETTER DROP WITH UNDESIRABLE MATERIAL EJECTOR Filed Oct. 17, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 6

Q INVENTOR. 4 5 a'aH/vJTAscnR 2 /0/ BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofiice 3,159,841 Patented Oct. 23, 1962 3,059,341 LETTER DROP WITH UNDEEHRABLE MATERIAL EJEQTOR John J. Taggart, New York, N.Y., assignor to Pioneer Mail Chute Corporation, Mount Vernon, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 17, 1960, Ser. No. 62,952 2 Claims. (Cl. 23245) The present invention relates to mail chutes mounted vertically within buildings for receiving envelopes and cards at each floor and guiding the same to a collection receptacle at a lower floor and is more particularly concerned with a combination letter drop and undesirable article ejector for such mail chutes at the various building floor levels thereof.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a device capable of being readily interconnected in existing or new mail chutes and providing an opening for the introduction of letter mail into the chute or preventing such introduction as desired, but preventing undesirable articles such as lighted cigarettes or stubs thereof from admission to the mail chute and also functioning as an access opening the cover of which can be unlocked and opened for readily permitting a person to move mail stuck in the chute adjacent thereto as well as providing ready access to the interior elements of said device.

A further and important object of the invention is to provide a combination letter drop and cigarette ejector for use in mail chutes which can be readily assembled with or detached from the mail chutes and which also is of a sturdy and long wearing construction but can be economically produced through having only two major parts each of which can be produced by molding and the additional elements are quickly and easily attachable to these major parts.

Further objects of the invention will be in part pointed out and in part obvious from the following description of the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a mail chute With the present invention included therein.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged detailed sectional view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2 with the cigarette ejector in its mail drop closing position.

FIG. 4 is also a further enlarged detailed sectional view taken on line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the present letter drop and cigarette ejector in its open position.

And FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed cross-sectional view of the present device showing the cigarette ejector in operative position.

In FIG. 1 there is shown a conventional type of mail chute A having a side wall B abutting the wall of a building and to which is attached a frame C while a parallel wall D also abutting the wall of the building has a frame E, with frames C and E joined by frame F for retaining a glass plate G between said walls. Frames H, I and I enclose a glass plate K and frames H and F are spaced apart providing an opening in the front of walls B and D for the insertion of the present letter drop and undesirable article ejector L. Each of the present devices L is inserted in the mail chute A at each floor of the building so that mail can be entered into the mail chute through the letter drop and fall downwardly to a reception receptacle generally positioned on the ground floor of the building. The particular manner of interconnection of the mail drop L in the mail chute will be described hereinafter.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawings wherein like and corresponding parts are designated by similar reference characters, numeral 1 indicates a flat base plate having an inner face 2 from which projects a rectangular inset portion 3 having a series of teeth 4 extending from the bottom edge thereof. A pair of triangular-shaped walls 5 and 6 extend perpendicularly from face 2, and are connected together by a lateral slanting wall 7 extending between said triangular walls. Base plate 1 has a medial opening from the bottom edge of the inset portion 3 to the bottom edge of wall 7. Said base plate further has a side wall 8 extending along one edge thereof and a second side wall 9 extending along the opposite edge, while a bottom wall 10 extends between said side walls.

A resilient catch plate 11 is fastened by rivets 12 to said base plate along side wall 8.

Openings 13 and 14 extend through said base plate for the passage of bolts in order to connect the base plate to a mail chute. One leaf of a hinge 15 is connected to said side wall 9.

A flat cover plate 16 has a side wall 17 to which the other leaf of said hinge is connected. A bottom wall 1 8 extends perpendicularly from said cover plate while a top wall 19 also extends perpendicularly from said cover plate, at an edge thereof opposite to said bottom wall. Top wall 19 has an elongated inwardly flared opening 20 formed therethrough.

A second bottom wall 21 extends perpendicularly from cover plate 16 and is spaced from said first mentioned bottom wall 18 a distance substantially equivalent to the length of opening 20.

19 and 21.

A pair of guide walls 23 and 24 also extend perpendicularly from said cover plate with Wall 23 extending between bottom wall 21 and top wall 19, while wall 24 extends between bottom wall 18 and top wall 19. The guide walls 23 and 24 are parallel and on opposite sides of opening 20.

Wall 23 has an L-shaped recess 25 and 26 in the edge 27 thereof for receiving walls 6 and 7 when said cover is pivoted on the said base plate. The upper portion of said edge 27 is also recessed at 28 for receiving inset portion 3 at such time. Similarly, wall 24 has a lower recess 29 and 30 in edge 31 thereof for receiving walls 5 and 7, while the upper portion is recessed at 32 for receiving the inset portion 3.

A pin 33 extends between the midportions of walls 23 and 24 and pivotally supports the coiled edge 34 of an ejector plate 35 which has a spread U-shaped cross-sectional configuration terminating in the free marginal edge portion 36. Said plate 35 is of a configuration for normally extending across the top of wall 7 but capable of being pivoted between walls 5 and 6 and said edge portion 36 is bent to extend inwardly towards cover plate 16 so that said ejector plate normally assumes the position shown in FIG. 6 under the elfect of gravity.

-A runner 37 has a stepped inwardly inclined edge 38 and is fixedly mounted upon the upper portion of cover plate 16 and extends outwardly therefrom towards ejector plate 35. A similar runner 39 having a slanting stepped edge 40 is likewise fixedly mounted on cover plate 16 with its edge extending outwardly towards ejector plate 35 and both runners positioned between and parallel to walls 23 and 24.

An eye 41 is fixedly connected to wall 24 and has a chain 42 connected thereto. A pin 43 is connected to chain 42 and can be inserted through opening 49 in wall 24. Thus when ejector plate 35 is pivoted to the position shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and pin 43 inserted through opening 49, said ejector plate is retained in that position A second side wall 22 extends perpendicularly from said cover plate and between walls.

and closes the space between inset portion 3, runners 37 and 39, and walls 23 and 24 so that mail dropped through opening 20 cannot pass through the present device.

A lock 44 opened by a key 45 extends through wall 22 for pivoting catch 46 so that said catch can be inserted behind member .11 to retain said cover locked to said base plate or released therefrom for pivoting on hinge as desired to the position shown in FIG. 5.

As best shown in FIG. 2, walls B and D of the mail chute each have a C-shaped cross-sectional configuration with a plate 47 and 48 respectively inserted therein and connected together by a back plate 49, a pair of short front plates 50 and 51 are fixedly connected to side plates 47 and 48 respectively and to base plate 1 by bolts 52 and 53 extending through openings 13 and 14 of said base plate and retained by nuts thereon. Base plate side wall 8 is of an L configuration having a recess 54 for receiving the edge of side wall B, while the opposite wall 9 has a stepped recess 55 for receiving side wall D so that the present device L forms a portion of the front of the mail chute but with opening positioned outwardly of frame F.

Base plate 1 further has an outwardly slanting top edge 56 for directly mail contacting the same in said mail chute over the plates 50 and 51.

In the operation of the present device, ejector plate 35 is positioned as shown in FIG. 6 and the cover plate 16 locked onto base plate 1. Thereafter, letter mail or cards inserted through opening 20 will strike runners 37 and 39 and then portion 36 of plate 35 pivoting said plate to the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6, whereupon, the mail slides down wall 7 through said base plate into and down through the mail chute. In the event lighter articles such as lighted cigarettes, waste paper, or the like are inserted through opening 20, they will not deflect plate 35 and are thus guided thereby through the bottom opening between both walls 18 and 21.

By unlocking lock 44 cover plate 16 can be pivoted from base plate 1. in order that a hand or tool can be inserted through said base plate medial opening for dislodging stuck mail when the same occurs. Also, ejector plate 35 can be positioned either as shown in FIG. 6 or as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, as previously'described. Thereafter, the cover plate can be pivoted back on and closed by said base plate as part of the mail chute.

The present device is capable of considerable modification and such changes thereto as come within the scope of the appended claims is deemed to be a part of the invention.

I claim:

1. A letter drop with undesirable material ejector for mail chutes comprising a flat base plate having an opening in the lower portion thereof for the passage of mail, said base plate having an integral wall slanting outwardly from one side of said plate across a lower portion of said opening, a cover having a fiat front with end, top and bottom walls extending laterally from said front, a hinge pivotally connecting one of said cover end walls and an edge of said base plate, a pair of guide walls spaced from said cover end walls and extending between said cover top and bottom walls and having recesses in the edges thereof for receiving said base plate slanting wall when said cover is closed on said base plate with said slanting wall extending laterally of and between said guide walls to, but spaced from said cover front, said cover top and bottom walls each having an opening extending between said guide walls providing an undesirable material passage therebetween, an ejector plate pivotally connected to and extending between said guide walls above said recesses in said guide walls and extending towards said slanting wall normally closing said undesirable material passage from said base plate opening, but pivotal therefrom through said base plate opening upon insertion of mail in said cover top wall opening and locking means extending between one of said cover end walls and guide walls for nonmally retaining said cover walls abutting said base plate.

2. A letter drop with undesirable material ejector for mail chutes as claimed in claim 1, wherein said' ejector plate is arranged for being pivoted to a position spaced from said cover front adjacent to and below said cover top wall opening for preventing the admission of mail through said letter drop, one of said guide walls having an opening therethrough and means normally positioned between one of said cover end walls and guide walls and capable of extending through said wall opening for retaining said ejector plate in said pivoted position when desired.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,976,251 Van Riper Oct. 9, 1934 

